The mystery of the Polish soul. B. W. Johnson's effect à rebours

Studies conducted in Poland replicated a not very-well known effect discovered by B. W. Johnson (1937). In his study students estimated their mood on several successive days each time comparing it to the mood they usually have. The results revealed a peculiar positive bias in that the students usually defined their mood as ‘better than usual’. Johnson's study was replicated in Poland, where demonstration of optimism is not a cultural norm. The results suggest that Polish subjects ‘usually define their mood as worse than usual’. The generalization and limitation of this negative bias is discussed in the light of the Pollyanna Principle and related empirical studies involving Polish subjects.